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Seeing A New Man

Sullivan, you're a peach!

And just like that, I've got my first horse trial with Sully on the calendar.

Part of me feels a little weird about it, almost like I'm cheating on Dino. But, based on the results of our bodywork/saddle fitting session, (He's mostly fine, just being a punk. More on that in another post!) he gets to go out on a hunter pace that weekend, which I think he would argue is the better option, anyway.

Other than feeling a strange sort of guilt for showing another horse, I am super excited about getting to event Sully! I signed us up for the Elementary (max height 2'3") division at the horse park, just to get a feel for Show Sully before attempting BN with him. I'm also not sure if I'll get the chance to school him XC beforehand, but I'm not too worried about having any issues over small jumps with a seasoned hunt horse. I'm mostly really pumped to see how Sully and I will do!

Getting to know Sully has been such fun. While he is similar to Dino in a lot of ways - in the 'ponyish' way he rides, his lazy attitude, and his rock-solid temperament, he is SO different in so many others.

Things I don't even have to think much about on Dino take a lot more effort on Sully. Like turning. Sully's got a much longer back and hasn't learned how to consistently lift his forehand and maintain an uphill balance yet, so turning him is more like steering a bus than cornering a Ferrari.

Jumping Dino is like riding a tiny orange explosive - he cracks his back over the smallest of crossrails, and my body has adjusted to absorbing that enormous amount of shock. When I jumped Sully the other day, I braced myself for a similar feeling when we got in very close to an oxer, and... suddenly we were on the other side and I wasn't quite sure we'd actually jumped anything. Sully's got the smoothest, flattest jump ever and just makes jumping feel so easy! I'm also learning how to manage his pace to get the best jump I can out of him. Homeboy loves him a chip to the base of every fence if he's not really motoring!

Dino and I have also built a silent language of our own over the years, and Sully has his own dialect that he learned from his mom. It's fun to decipher, and having watched Sully and his rider a lot over the past year, I can more easily figure out why he goes the way he does and learn how to communicate with him effectively.